Bank boss joins HP board

The chairman and chief executive of Wachovia – the fourth largest retail bank in the US – is joining the board of HP.

G Kennedy Thompson, known as Ken, is the first replacement after HP lost three directors in the wake of its spying scandal.

He is not sitting on any HP committees and is apparently not a replacement for a specific job, but was hired because of his experience running a large and complex company.

Thompson will be paid $50,000 cash each year and gets $150,000 in share options.

In other news, HP revealed last week that it is now under formal investigation by the Securities and Exchange Commission. HP is still under investigation by the Attorney General of California, the AG of Northern California, and the House Committee of Energy and Commerce.

It has also received requests for documents from the Federal Communications Commission.